By Patrick Grove
Arsenal’s hopes for a top four finish (and for finishing above the scum) took a huge dent on Sunday as Manchester United completed the double over the Gunners by way of a 2-1 scoreline. There has been a great deal of disgruntled talk since the match by many fans and it’s hard not to agree with them. The substitution is the big talking point for most people but I think from a fans perspective there are many other positives and negatives to be taken away from what was our 3rd league defeat on the trot.
Let’s start with the bad news and try to end on the way up, shall we?
Johan Djourou was extremely lack luster in the first half. I know he is playing out of position and any centre back asked to play in a full back position will tell you they’d rather not. He wasn’t helped either by the sporadic tracking back of either Oxlaide-Chamberlain or Walcott. To think even our best right back (Sagna) would have faired well in 2 on 1 situations with Nani and Evra is a joke. In a very real sense though, we looked far more settled on the right side of the pitch after the introduction of Nico Yennaris at halftime and he is a reserve player usually, mind you. This shows how poor we are at right back without Sagna or Jenkinson available as our reserve right back is playing better than one of our more senior defensive players.
Our midfield in the first half really struggled. Considering we had 3 central midfielders (Ramsey, Rosicky, Song) to Manchester United’s 2 (Carrick and Giggs), we failed to control the game in that part of the pitch. Manchester United’s tactics were very offensive as far as personnel but the real difference was how well organized they were when they lost the ball. They didn’t pressure our center backs too much when Koscielny or Mertesacker had the ball but they were able to keep 10 players behind the ball in most situation in the first half and Arsenal made far too few incisive runs and passes to pull players out of position. You could see almost immediately how much we miss Mikel Arteta in the midfield and it’s hard to believe but I think he is almost as essential to our success as Cesc Fabregas used to be.
I hate to give more stick to Andrei Arshavin as I am sure he has received all he can handle at this point, but here goes. You could feel the intensity of the game leave him behind as soon as he stepped on and “The Ox” stepped off the pitch on Sunday. Whether “The Ox” really would have defended more capably against the decisive run of Valencia is up for debate. The youngster was caught out of position, not helping back multiple times in the first half by Evra and to assume he would have defended more capably than Arshavin is just that, an assumption. But even when he had the ball after the goal and in the closing minutes of the game Arshavin just didn’t seem to be able to match the intensity of his surroundings. Recently I would say it has been one of his biggest problems. Last season, he was brought on in the second half of the Barcelona game and really changed the outcome for the Gunners. He does possess quality and anyone who says otherwise is completely blind. The fact is though if he cannot ratchet up his intensity and his will to play whether starting or brought on as a sub, his career at the Emirates may be finished.
Now let’s get to the positive side of things.
Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain. What more can you say really? For a youngster getting his first league start in a game as big as this one against Manchester United, you couldn’t ask for a whole lot more. He was our main attacking threat and our most potent threat going forward for the entirety of his 70 minutes on the pitch. His one weakness is his defensive cover as he did let Evra make free overlaps on a number of occasions in the first half. However, he created shots for himself and others and had the only assist of the game. Really strong performance by the youngster and the kid is just begging to get more playing time with a performance like that.
For all the mistakes he’s made in recent games, Szczesny looked his reliable self again on Sunday. He made a couple of world class saves and ordered the defenders in front of him around like a player with far more experience than he actually has. He really is a keeper that could be a great one for a very long time and even a legend if he sticks around and helps bring some silverware back to the Gunners.
I’ve seen some fans’ comments begging for Tomas Rosicky’s departure, but for the life of me I can’t quite understand why. He was the player that played the ball out wide to “The Ox” that created the space for our only goal and managed shots on goal and incisive passes more often than any other player on the pitch for the Gunners on Sunday. He is a very capable squad player and one with enough experience to come in and give us something at the end of games or as capable cover.
Koscielny and Mertesacker were very capable and should be applauded for their efforts in this game. Considering how many crosses they had to deal with because of the poor play of Djourou and even Vermaelen at times, they made many good clearances and started most of our attacks. Like usual I have to point out Koscielny’s performance as one of the best on the day. He not only played well defensively but also was a driving force going forward in the second half and managed to create a chance or two. Even Mertesacker got a header on goal that was blocked by Evans in the second half. It was one of the better performances from our center halves and had it not been for our weakness in the wide positions, they may have had a clean sheet in this game.
To talk a little bit about the decision to substitute “The Ox” for Arshavin at the end of the game, I was not as surprised as many people were to see this change. Reading elsewhere it seems “The Ox” was ill during the week and at the time of the substitution may have been suffering from some cramping which would be expected for a young player running up and down the sideline for 74 minutes. If this was the case, he really had to be substituted. And considering the contribution Arshavin made to the Barcelona game last season (let’s remember he was also in a run of bad form then as well), bringing him on was not completely unreasonable. Also, try to remember that hindsight is 20/20 and had his impact been similar to what it was last February against the Catalans, certainly fans would be praising Arsene’s name rather than cursing it.
All in all, three straight league defeats are hard to take. Injuries certainly have taken their toll and you can tell how much the team and results are suffering from the players we are missing. Not to harp on about the players missing but consider a team of Wilshere, Arteta, Gervinho (ACN), Sagna, Santos, Gibbs, Jenkinson, Diaby, Henry, and Coquelin and you can see how much quality is missing from this team right now.
Signings would be great but I doubt we could sign as much quality as we have missing due injury at the moment and it is a big ask for all the players we have available to make up that missing quality. Hope, pray, meditate, whatever you do, let’s try to make sure that some or all of these players make it back to fitness sooner rather than later. Because as always….
Patrick is a long time Gooner, and a Baltimore native. You can follow him on Twitter @pgrove1.